Breaking You
by millennium rod
Summary: It's a typical story- Ryou is abused by Bakura, and runs to Marik for help. But when the possibility of a greater threat exposes itself, Ryou and Marik find themselves in a far worse situation. Angstshipping, Tendershipping.
1. Fragile

Okay, I swear that someday I will update the stories that I already started. But the zombie plot bunnies… they were eating me aliiiive…

It was happening again.

True, he had suffered much worse at his hands in the past. And sure enough, he was- although the very thought of it made him sick- becoming numb to the pain that was constantly inflicted upon him by his "boyfriend." Bakura.

Yes. A few bruises here, some cuts there… it was nowhere near as bad as the time he had pulled a knife on the boy, right? Surely he could put up with this.

When the taller male finally calmed enough to leave Ryou alone, he left him in the middle of the room, shaking and curled up in a ball. But he knew better than to show any signs of pain around Bakura; he would only be berated for being so pathetic.

Those feelings could wait for his next destination.

Wincing, he pushed himself to a standing position, and, as quietly as he possibly could, slipped out the door and into the cool, refreshing autumn air that almost made him feel better.

After about ten minutes of walking- or stumbling—enough of the pain had subsided that he could walk without getting quite as strange of looks. But he knew it wouldn't be enough to fool Marik, whose house he was finally approaching.

Ryou went up to the door and weakly rang the doorbell. He heard the sound of footsteps, then the click of the doorknob as Marik appeared in the doorway, smiling warmly. However, his smile quickly faded as soon as he saw Ryou, sporting a black eye, a small cut across his cheek, and probably more injuries he hadn't had the last time they had seen each other. Without a word, the Egyptian stepped aside to let his friend inside.

Ever since Bakura had started becoming so much more violent, Marik and Ryou had struck up what could only be described as an agreement between the two- any time that Ryou needed, he could go to Marik to take a break from it all- no matter how long or late- if thing just became too much for him. Marik didn't mind- he knew that if he didn't Ryou would probably end up completely broken. And besides, the two had been best friends for years before Bakura had come into the picture; Marik had only even met him once or twice.

But that made it that much easier to hate him. Especially considering the visits had become much more frequent (not that he minded seeing Ryou; he just hated the reason for it), with Ryou looking much worse each time- besides the obvious scars, Ryou's once- bright eyes had dulled considerably, not leaving even a trace of the innocent look that he had once sported. He obviously hadn't been eating very well, as he had lost quite a bit of weight, and he had admitted to almost never sleeping, which resulted in dark marks under his eyes.

Ryou was breaking right before his eyes, and all Marik could do was watch.

Once the two were sitting on the couch, Ryou buried his head into Marik's shoulder and finally let himself break down, telling about everything that had happened, how much he hated it; being so weak, never being able to stop him. Marik let him cry, listening to every word. He had figured out long ago that saying things like "It'll be okay," or "I understand," was not only completely useless but only served to make thing worse. Ryou would know he was lying straight away; they knew each other far too well.

The two sat together until they lost track of time, and a couple hours after that. Until Ryou looked at the time. Eyes quickly widening in terror, he bolted out of his seat.

"Damn it! I only have 5 minutes until I'm supposed to be home!" he cried, racing toward the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here for the night?" Marik called after him. Ryou hesitated for a moment, but shook his head furiously.

"N-no, Bakura would get mad. Bye!" And with that, Ryou flew out the door.

Marik sat back and sighed. _Please don't hurt him any more tonight, Bakura,_ he pleaded to himself. _Please…_

XXXXX

A lone silver-haired figure raced down the street as quickly as his thin legs could take him. His chest burned, and he longed to stop for even just a split second to catch his breath. No, he had to keep running; he was already so late…

The boy shivered at the realization. Bakura didn't like it when he wasn't home at exactly 10:00. He would hit him and accuse him of seeing someone behind his back, never, ever stopping the insults that flew from his mouth.

"No, no, I'm not cheating on you, I-I-I love you…" Ryou whimpered, oblivious to the fact that there was nobody around to hear him. But despite this distraction, something in his brain kept his legs moving until he made it to his front door. Panting, he fumbled with his key, slid it into the lock, and stumbled inside, his knees weak and shaking his entire body with terror.

Because right there, standing in the doorway, was Bakura, his arms crossed and a smirk covering his face.

"Do you know what time it is,Ryou?" he asked with a fake, mocking sweetness to his voice. Ryou reluctantly looked down at his watch and saw the terrifying numbers staring up at him.

10:01 PM.

"I-It's only one minute, right?" he sputtered. "I've been with Marik, is all-" Ryou's hands flew to his mouth,, trying desperately to take back the words he had just said.

Bakura's eyes grew colder, then he began to laugh.

"I knew it! You didn't think I wouldn't figure it out, did you? You're always gone for long periods of time, and when I ask where you've been you get all defensive." His eyes lit up. "And this means… not only are you a cheating little whore, but you're a liar too!"

"N-no! It's not like that!" Ryou wanted to yell, but fear paralyzed every part of his body. He braced himself, waiting for what was surely about to come. Which was why he was completely surprised when Bakura left without even touching him.

Ryou breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe… maybe, just for that one night, he was safe.

These feelings disappeared completely when Bakura returned, holding a knife.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Seira-g: I think I'll stop there~!

Ryou: Um, personally, I think waiting is even worse than what he's about to do to me…

Seira-g: Well, if the lovely reviewers do their job, There won't be as much! So please- for Ryou's sake!

Ryou: Is that supposed to make me feel better?


	2. Stumble

I got the written version of this done faster than I thought I would~! So because of my six lovely reviewers, I'm updating!

Ryou let out a choked sob and stood up, scrambling to get away from Bakura, who had a murderous glint in his eye. But it was no use. Bakura grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against the door.

"It'll be worse if you keep moving," he said calmly before plunging the knife into the terrified boy's stomach.

Ryou couldn't make a sound; no screams or cries came from his mouth. Bakura yanked the blade from his body, sending a whole new ripple of pain. Ryou's knees finally gave in, and he crumpled to the ground.

"You're lucky I got you where I did," Bakura said, smirking, "but I could easily do it again. So let's get one thing straight." He moved closer, causing Ryou to instinctively flinch and move away.

"You stay away from Marik. I don't want you to see him or talk to him anymore." He grabbed Ryou by his collar and yanked his face closer to his own. "Got it?" he hissed, leaving his warm breath on Ryou's lips as he dropped him, heading back upstairs.

_So this is it,_ Ryou thought to himself. _He finally did it. I'm going to die._ He wanted so much to just close his eyes, let himself bleed to death on the cold, hard floor. If he could give it all up now, then he would never have to suffer again, he would be free from the torment that was always inflicted upon him…

_Wait._ That was obviously what Bakura had wanted him to think, right? Well, he wouldn't do it. He was done giving in to his commands. He was going to live, and he would…

He would go see Marik again.

Ryou got himself to a standing position, turned the knob, and left without any hesitation. Once he had made it onto the street, stumbling with one hand on his wound and utilizing all the energy he could now, because he didn't know how long it would last. He took in one last, long view of the apartment they had shared, and had one more quick thing to say.

"Damn you, Bakura."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a strange sight for as peaceful of a neighborhood they lived in. A scrawny boy with long, snowy white hair stumbling down the street and leaving a small trail of blood behind him.

Ryou could feel himself getting weaker with each step. He kept finding it harder and harder to stay on his feet, and it hurt so much just to breathe…

He looked down towards his once-plain white shirt. It now had a large red stain blossoming in the middle of it. It kept getting bigger; he must still be bleeding. He glanced down toward the ground, where fresh red blood dripped onto the pavement. The sight of it made want to gag, and his free hand quickly clamped around his mouth. He only coughed a few times, removing his hands several moments later and finding it stained with blood.

_K-keep walking… keep … walking…_

Ryou's vision was beginning to blur, and a particularly strong wave of dizziness nearly brought him down. He fell to the ground, wincing at the pain that the force of the fall caused.

_So this is it,_ he thought. _I couldn't make it… it sucks, but this is as far as I can go. I just have to die here…_ he took one final look up, and what he saw gave him a sudden burst of energy- not much, but…

Because, standing about 50 feet away across the street ,was Marik's house.

Ryou began gathering energy from the very farthest corners of his body. He didn't care if he had to crawl there, he was going to make it whether his body wanted him to or not. Doubled over, he began concentrating all of his thoughts into moving one foot in front of the other and ignoring the dizziness that threatened to take him right there and then. He was almost there; he could grasp it in his hand… just a few more steps…

He made it up the three steps to reach the door. He smiled. Even if he couldn't gather enough strength to push the doorbell, he would be happy. He would be defying Bakura's orders one more time; he was going to be close to Marik one last time…

_Ding-dong._

Ryou's finger fell, along with the rest of his body that, no matter how much he may have wanted it to, couldn't hold its own weight anymore.

The boy heard the familiar footsteps, and saw the door open with a small click. Marik looked around confusedly for a moment before his eyes locked on to the scene unfolding before him. His eyes widened in pure terror, and he quickly moved down to Ryou, who still had a weak, sleepy smile on his face.

"Ryou…? Ryou!"

"M…ma…ri…k…" he barely managed to whisper before finally giving in to his body's demands to slip into unconsciousness.

"Hang on, I-I'll go call for help" he stammered hurriedly before standing up and running to get the phone.

_Please don't die, Ryou,_ he silently pleaded as his trembling fingers dialed the number. _Please…_

XXXXXXXX

Marik sat with Ryou, holding his head in his lap until an ambulance showed up. All the things he had sworn to never say poured out of his mouth at lightning speed. "It'll be okay. I promise, Ryou. Just please, hang in there, you'll be okay, please…" he found himself whispering over and over. He knew it was the wrong thing to say in this situation, but he had no idea what else to do.

After what felt to Marik like an eternity and a half, the ambulance finally arrived, loading Ryou into the truck and almost immediately beginning work. They reluctantly allowed Marik to come along with them, as long as he stayed to the side.

Fortunately, the ride to the hospital wasn't a long one, and they were soon at their destination, leaving Marik alone in the waiting room. He quickly found himself tapping his foot and drumming his fingers against his knee nervously. All he could think was that the worst possible thing was happening while he sat there, unable to do anything. He had only wanted to protect him, and this was where it had gotten the two of them. If it hadn't been for Bakura-

_Bakura._ Marik tightly clenched his fists at even the thought of his name. He would bet anything that he was the one who had done this to Ryou.

The Egyptian was interrupted in his thoughts by the sight of one of the doctors standing over him.

"You're the one here for Ryou Bakura, right?" Marik nodded.

"Y-yeah." He swallowed, dreading what was coming next. This was it; this was where they would tell him that they had done everything they could, but he was still-

"H-how is he? He's… okay, right?"

"Well, his injury wasn't too severe, but he's lost enough blood that we can't be entirely sure he's going to pull through." Marik stared at him, completely speechless.

"I… I understand. Thank you," he replied shakily. With this, the doctor took his leave.

Now Marik's mind was racing. _He killed him. He put him through complete hell, and then he killed him._

_ No, the doctor said he still has a chance._

_ But what if he does die? Then what do I do?_

_ Either way, you have to get him back._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Seira-g: WOW, did that take a long time to type!

Marik: Yeah, good for you. It didn't exactly go by quickly for us, you know?

Seira-g: Yeah, well, things can only get wo- I MEAN better from here, right?

Marik: *glares evilly*

Seira-g: *whispers* He kind of scares me sometimes.

Marik: What was that?

Seira-g: Nothing! Um, so questions? Comments? Just click that tiny little review button right there. It's magical and fun for the whole family!


	3. Revenge

DAMN, did this chapter take a long time to write. I really wanted to get this up sooner, but school sucked and I couldn't find the time. But it's pretty long, so I guess it's worth it?

It took Marik's mind a moment to process this thought. _Get him back? How would I…? Wait._ All of a sudden, an idea grabbed his mind, not letting go until he would at least consider it. He shook his head, trying to make the terrible thought go away, but it had already sunk in.

It was the easiest way to do things. After all, even though he would probably end up suffering numerous consequences, it was the only way for him to be completely sure that he would never do anything to Ryou- or anybody- ever again. Anything less would never stop someone like him.

_Now. I'm going to do it now._ He knew that if he hesitated for even a moment, it could never be done.

Marik stood up quickly, walking briskly through the hallways and breaking into a run as soon as his feet hit the pavement outside the building.

_I'll be back soon, Ryou,_ he promised, more to himself than to the person he was addressing. _I'll do this for you, then I'll come right back._

Marik had only been to Ryou's house once or twice, so he had a bit of difficulty finding it.

"Where is this place, anyway?" he muttered as he stopped to glance around. In his frenzy, it took him a few moments longer than it normally would for him to notice that the building was staring right down at him.

"Figures," he grumbled as he tried turning the knob to get inside. To his surprise, it opened without any problems.

The living room he stepped into was a bit messy, but otherwise completely normal- a couch, a couple chairs, a TV that was still flashing with an unwatched late night horror movie. Marik's eyes flashed around wildly for something, anything, that could be used as some kind of weapon. He saw the answer to his prayers lying on the floor, about 3 feet from the door. A large knife, about three feet from the door.

Upon picking it up, he was slightly disturbed to find that it still had a thin layer of blood coating it. Now he was almost completely sure that Bakura had been the one who stabbed Ryou. Marik took the object in his hand and lightly glided his fingers over the long blade. Yes, this would be fitting; being killed with the same object he had used on Ryou.

After doing another, more careful scan of the room, he saw a snowy-haired figure curled up on the couch, snoring loudly. When Marik approached him, he realized that, when he was asleep, the man looked quite a bit like Ryou.

_It's not him,_ he quickly reminded himself. _This isn't Ryou, this is Bakura, the person that I need to kill…_

With ninja-like speed and agility, Marik snuck up right next to Bakura and placed the point of the knife on the still sleeping figure's chest. Instead of simply stabbing him as he slept, he was going to do it while he was awake. That way, he would be more likely to feel it.

Marik dug the knife into his skin just enough to break the skin a bit. Bakura shifted slightly, groaning as his eyes opened slowly. It didn't take long for him to start looking around, confused as his mind attempted to grasp the situation. As he became more awake, his puzzled look twisted into a smirk.

"I was wondering when you would show up, Marik," he said softly. "I knew that Ryou would go back to you despite what I told him. So, speaking of Ryou… how is he?"

"Like you give a damn," Marik hissed back. "Like you ever even cared about him at all."

Bakura shook his head. "Marik, Marik, Marik… I wouldn't expect you to understand what the two of us have. In fact, why don't you ask Ryou. He'll tell you how much I love him. He knows _very_ well how much I would hate it if someone were to steal him away from me." As he spoke these last few words, his stare turned harsher and more pointed towards Marik.

"That's right, _Marik_," he spat. "I know all about it. How Ryou leaves me all the time to go see you. He admitted it to me himself."

"So you lecture me about not knowing what I'm talking about, then go off making assumptions," Marik said as he shook, feeling the anger build up in his body like steam in a kettle. He wasn't going to listen to him anymore; he was going to do it-

"Go ahead," Bakura said quietly as Marik rose the blade into the air, "do it. I dare you. But then you won't be any better off than me, will you?" This caused his arm to stop in midair.

_Come on,_ he thought. _All you have to do is move your arm a bit more. Then it will all finally be over._

_ You swore to protect him, didn't you?_

_ Yeah. _

Which is why… I can do this!" Marik put all the force he possibly could into bringing the knife down, piercing as close as he could to Bakura's heart. The smile stayed on the paler man's face as the blade was yanked from his chest and re-sent into his stomach.

To Marik, the world was speeding along in fast forward; he was completely caught up in the moment. He didn't even notice the blood splattering against his face, clothes, and arms, and he was barely focusing as his arm moved as if it were a completely separate being.

At long last, he stopped stabbing, and the knife clattered to the ground. Breathing heavily, Marik took a long look at the body underneath him. There were cuts all over his upper body, arms, and face, and his white hair was matted with blood. With all the blood everywhere, Marik knew that there was absolutely no chance that Bakura was still alive.

Marik tipped back his head, and what began as a small chuckle became a deep, loud laugh that shook his whole body. He had finally done it. Bakura was dead, and he was never going to torment Ryou ever again.

_Ryou._

He had gotten so caught up in his feelings of euphoria that he had almost forgotten the reason he was performing the task in the first place. The Egyptian knew that he had to get back to Ryou; he had (almost) promised him. But he also knew, looking down at himself, that he couldn't go outside looking like this.

_Ryou and I are about the same size,_ he reasoned. _I can just borrow some of his clothes._ He headed down the hallway and into what he remembered as Ryou's room. Surprisingly enough, Bakura had never pushed the idea that the two of them share a room, although a few objects that most likely belonged to him were strewn about the room on the floor and shelves.

Marik changed into a pair of tan pants and a black shirt that he knew the other boy rarely wore. As he was leaving to go to the bathroom to wash off, a picture on Ryou's dresser caught his attention. He moved over and picked it up to look at it closer.

As far as Marik could tell, the photo was from around a year ago, when Ryou and Bakura had just started going out. Ryou looked much happier and healthier, more like the way he had been when it had only been the two of them, He had a large smile on his face as he hugged Bakura, whose eyes held none of the maliciousness they had now; his smile was far from being his trademark smirk. They both looked so happy…

"_I wouldn't expect you to understand what the two of us have."_

Marik noticed that two drops of water had fallen onto the glass . Why was he crying? He had done Ryou a favor by killing Bakura, hadn't he…?

_No, they were a good couple at one point, too, weren't they?_ Had what he had just done really been the best thing to do? Or maybe…

_Ryou probably still loved him. He's going to hate you, now._

_ N-no, that can't be possible. There's no way that he could have still felt something for someone who put him through something like that._

_ You never know. You hear stories like that all the time; about people who always go back to their abusive ex._

_ If you really think Ryou is like that, then why don't you go and ask him yourself?_ That's right, that's what he had been planning to do in the first place. He stepped into the bathroom and turned on the faucet, scrubbing his face and arms to rid himself of all traces of Bakura's blood.

When he looked a bit more presentable, Marik stepped out of the bathroom door and down the hallway. When he got to the living room, he quickly averted his eyes from the couch. He had absolutely no desire to face what he had done.

Marik sprinted outside and slammed the door behind him, There was a cruel chill to the night air that made his teeth chatter as he ran down the street.

_You'd better not be dead, Ryou,_ he thought as he ran down the dark street. _I don't want this to be for nothing._

XXXXXXXXXX

Seira-g: Not only did it take a long time to write, but it took a long time to type. Not that I had anything better to do; I have a STUPID COLD! Is this revenge for what I do to my characters…?

Bakura: I'd like to say yes, but you get sick this time every year.

Seira-g: Shut up. So anyways, review? For meee? Please?

Bakura: *coughdesperatecough*

Seira-g: So what if I am! By the way, one last thing- I think this is my longest chapter ever! I'm kind of proud~!


	4. Decisions

Sorry, I wanted to get this up sooner. But you guys all know how school piles on homework and the hard shit right when you need free time, right?

_Complete darkness._

That was all the boy saw as he slowly looked around.

"Where am I?" he whispered, growing more frightened at each passing second. Not because he was afraid of the dark; he had found it rather comforting ever since he was a small child.

_I'm… dead? Is that it?_ His body felt absolutely nothing. No pain or even numbness. It was more like he had become a part of the darkness. He glanced down at the hand he thought was outstretched, straining his eyes for any signs of physical presence.

Just as his eyes were beginning to adjust to his black surroundings, there was a sudden ray of light that appeared several feet away from him. Intrigued, the silver-haired boy started running towards it. Until a sudden voice stopped him in his tracks.

_Wait._

Startled, he turned around. "Who… are you?"

_Do you want to die?_

There was a brief yet unsettling silence. "…What?"

_Would you, Ryou Bakura, rather die? Or keep on living?_

Somehow, this was a difficult question. True, there had been times where he had just wanted to end it all, but did he really want to go through with something like that? Plus, there was always-

"Marik." The word barely escaped his lips as a whisper. His memories of what had happened were fuzzy and he had no idea where he was or what was happening, but he remembered. Marik… he was a good person, wasn't he? He cared about him and helped him out when he needed it, right?

He was a person that Ryou couldn't bring himself to hurt, no matter what.

"N-no." Dissatisfied with his own weak response, he tried again. "No."

_No… what? The voice hissed back._

"No. I don't want to die." This was said in a much more firm tone than before,

Ryou could almost hear the smirk in the voice's next words.

_Then don't. For starters, stay away from the pretty light. But are you sure you're okay with it? Abandoning the light to live in the darkness?_ Before he could respond, Ryou felt a sudden and strange disconnection with the voice. After that, several things happened in an instant that Ryou couldn't keep track of. As his body seemed to solidify, one thought dominated his mind.

_Who was that voice, and why did it sound so familiar?_

XXX

Ryou's chocolate brown eyes shot open. For those first few moments, he was completely numb. His body felt like a giant ball of lead, unable to move.

The first thing he noticed was that the room he was in was completely unfamiliar. But judging by the various IVs and monitors surrounding the clean, crisp bed he was laying in, he was probably in a hospital somewhere; although he couldn't quite remember why.

The first sign that proved that yes, he did still have control over his body, came when his hand gave an instinctive squeeze to the one that was grasping his. Ryou turned his head ever so slightly to find the source of the hand and saw, eyes closed and shoulders moving up and down to the steady rhythm of sleep, Marik.

Ryou wanted so badly to wake him up, show him that he was alright, but at the same time had do desire to interrupt his slumber. Instead, he simply laid there, wondering what in the world had just happened to him.

_I was going to die. That much I know. So who was that voice, and what was his motivation for trying to save me?_ He mentally shrugged his shoulders and relaxed a bit as he watched his reason for living sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

Seira-g: Sorry for the shortness of the chapter! First there was writer's block, then I had an idea, then I scrapped that and came up with this today.

Ryou: Wait, so I'm alive?

Seira-g: Yes, Ryou. You're alive.

Ryou: Yessss! Everyone, review!

Seira-g: Remember, he said it, not me! Although I'll say it now, eh?


	5. Silence

So yeah, I've had this chapter done for weeks. Literally weeks. But it just didn't feel right, so I didn't post until now. And this has changed a lot, too. So yeeeah.

_He had never thought that he would even give him the time of day. Even though he took an immediate notice to the person that was so similar to him in looks, he couldn't even bring himself to say hello. He had Marik to talk to, but he had always been the exception. He didn't talk to anyone else unless absolutely necessary._

_ But Ryou got the feeling that he wouldn't be ignored or made fun of if he approached him. Even though they had never exchanged a single word, he felt that the new kid would be different from everyone else._

_ "U-um… your name is Bakura, right?"_

_ The boy in question spun around, a questioning look in his eyes._

_ "And you are?"_

_ "R-Ryou," he stammered. "Ryou… Bakura."_

_ Bakura smiled. "Interesting," he said. He stuck out a hand. "Bakura Sennen. Nice to meet you." _

_ As Ryou's face turned an unnatural shade of pink, he took the hand that was offered to him. "Y-yeah."_

_ XXXXXX_

That was how everything had started. No more than a simple curiosity. So how had things become so messed up? This was what Ryou wondered for the rest of that night. Had he done something to Bakura at some point? Did it even have anything to do with him? He sighed. This was much too complicated for him. He supposed that he could ask Bakura himself. But what would happen the next time they saw each other? Ryou wasn't sure if he ever wanted to face him ever again, but he knew that sooner or later, they would have to meet at least one more time.

Ryou was alone, trapped in his own thoughts until just after sunrise, when the man next to him began to stir. This made him jump a little bit; he had completely forgotten he was there.

Marik's eyes opened slowly, his eyes blurred by sleep as he pushed himself up. Before they were fully focused again, his gaze locked onto Ryou's.

"…Ry…" Coherency took over his features as he became more aware of his surroundings. "How long have you been up?"

"N-not too long," Ryou lied quickly. Saying that he had been watching him sleep would sound creepy; even he knew that.

For what felt like the next few hours, they sat in silence; neither of them completely sure what to say. Marik had been expecting there to be a bit more emotion when the two saw each other, and it was obvious that they both had something on their minds. But the cloud of tension hovering over the room made it impossible to bring up the words to voice them.

"So how much do you remember?" Marik asked, breaking the awkward silence. "About what happened, I mean."

"Not much, really." Ryou thought that this would be an opportune moment to bring up the strange voice he had heard, but something in the back of his mind said that he shouldn't. Not yet, anyway.

Once again, nobody had any idea what should be said. Marik opened his mouth as though about to speak several times, but always stopped as soon as Ryou looked at him. It was as if he was embarrassed about what he wanted to say.

Neither one of them said anything for around twenty minutes after that. Eventually, Marik rose to his feet. "I should probably get going," he said quietly, turning around quickly as though anxious to leave.

"You don't have to-"

"No, I… Look, I'll come back later, alright?" Without another sound from either, Marik slid out of the room.

_Great. Now I'm bored again,_ Ryou thought as he curled up under his blanket. _Maybe I'll just go to sleep again._ It was as he thought these words that he realized how exhausted he really was. He decided to take a small nap…

XXXXXXXXX

Just like before, it was completely dark. This time, Ryou was able to relax. He still had no idea where he was, but he knew that he was safe here, that he couldn't be hurt…

_So, we meet again._ Ryou jumped at the sudden return of the familiar voice.

"You're… here again…?"

_You didn't think you were completely rid of me, did you?_

"No, that's not it, I-"

_Never mind. I don't want to hear it. Besides, I'm just here to know how you're feeling about your choice._

"Choice?"

_You didn't have to live with that back there. You could have chosen to leave it all behind; then you wouldn't have to deal with _him.

Something clicked in Ryou's mind. "You mean Marik? Why wouldn't I want to 'deal with him?'"

_Don't pretend you didn't notice. Even you're smart enough to pick up the fact that he was hiding something back there._

"I did notice, but it's not a big deal, is it?"

The voice gave a sigh, as though to say, "How much more stupid can you be?"

_This is where you have another option, Ryou. I could tell you, and maybe then you would question whether you've made the right decision. Or you could decide not to trust this strange person in your head, and keep leading your stupid, ignorant life of happiness. What do you choose?_

Ryou winced a bit at some of the harsher comments, but otherwise showed no other sign of expression. "Why should I trust you?" There was a small, menacing laugh.

_Believe me, you'll figure it out soon enough…"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Seira-g: I finally wrote it, and it turned out completely different than before! Yay!

Ryou: is that a good thing or a bad thing…?

Seira-g: I don't know. It follows the same plot, so it doesn't really make a difference. But trust me, considering I write these things to get over stress, you can expect the angst to increase by, oh, I don't know; over 9,000?

Ryou: I'll kill you one of these days. Seriously.


	6. The Now Revealed Truth

Alright, this fic is finally back after a three month break! The last chapter was kind of a filler chapter now that I look back on it, but this one has actual content… I promise.

_"I hate him."_

_ The words had come so quickly from Ryou's mouth that Marik had no time to formulate a response._

_ "…What?" was all he managed to get out._

_ "I hate Bakura. I-I'm sick of him. The way he treats me. The way he acts like nothing is wrong."_

_ "Then why can't you just leave him?"_

_ Ryou snorted. "Do you have any idea what would happen if I did that? He would try to kill me."_

_ Marik hesitated. On the one hand, he wanted to be able to say that he was exaggerating, that it would never happen. But at the same time, he knew it would. He couldn't deny it, even if he tried._

_ "But I guess I don't really have a choice, do I? I mean, I'm the one who got myself into this."_

_ "…I'd kill him." Ryou's eyes widened at the sudden comment from Marik, who was staring at his own clenched hands. "If he were to kill you, hell; even _try_ to kill you, there's no way I'd let him get away with it. Not with his life."_

_ "M-marik?" Ryou stared at the Egyptian, who held an uncharacteristic, malicious glare. Ryou laughed nervously. "I-I wasn't being serious."_

_ Marik's head jerked up, as though startled from some sort of trance. His eyes turned, although slightly strained, back to his normal expression._

_ "Yeah. So… so was I."_

XXXXX

"Thanks for taking me home, Marik," came Ryou's voice from his right side.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure. No problem." He gripped the steering wheel in front of him until his knuckles turned white. He knew that the past few days had only been a luxury, the last few days before Ryou would find out about the real events of that night.

"Hey, Marik," Ryou said quietly, gazing out the window. "Why do you think we never saw him? While I was in the hospital, I mean." Marik froze. Maybe he had less time than he thought.

"Why would you _want_ to see him?" he asked. Ryou shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess I sort of expected him to come and apologize." He smiled sadly. "Then again, that might be a bit too much to ask, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you're probably right about that." Marik turned his focus back to the road, and neither said another word until they pulled into the driveway.

Ryou tried to get out of the car. "Well, I guess I'll see you later when I can, Marik."

"Wait." Ryou turned to Marik, who was preparing to climb out as well. "I'm coming in, too."

"But Bakura will-"

"I need to show you something, Ryou. It won't take long, I promise."

"Alright." Ryou could hear the urgency in Marik's voice, and he knew that Marik was following him in, whether he wanted it or not. "But you probably shouldn't stay too long." _I wasn't supposed to see you after that night, in the first place_, he thought, remembering Bakura's last words to him.

The first think that hit them when they opened the door was the smell of blood. Both crinkled their noses, but continued inside, Ryou with no idea what had happened and Marik with anticipation. Ryou could only take a few steps before stopping short at the sight in front of him.

The room had remained virtually unchanged since Marik had left, three nights ago. The TV had been left blaring with an unknown movie, this time a romance. There were some pillows and garbage strewn about the floor.

And there were still bloodstains on the couch, the floor, and Bakura's body.

"B-bakura?" Ryou whispered , taking another tentative step toward the corpse. "What is this…what… why…?"

Marik closed his eyes and gently touched Ryou's shoulder, letting out a sigh as the other slowly turned to look at him. Ryou looked back and forth between the two of them a few times, a terrified look in his darting eyes.

"How did this happen?" he muttered. "Who would do something like this?"

Marik took a deep breath. His heart was pounding; he knew it was now or never-

"I'm sorry." Ryou stared at Marik, who refused to even look in Ryou's general direction.

"Marik… you…"

"I only wanted to protect you," he whispered, trembling as he held back tears of his own.

"I never wanted-"

_Slap._

Marik looked upwards at the source of the sudden pain, who had knelt down by the dead body.

"Get out."

"What?"

"I'm sorry. Just, please. Give me some time, alright? I… I have no idea how to feel right now, okay? I need to be alone for a while."

"Ryou, I…"

"Please." Ryou was doing his best to keep his voice steady as he pointed his best friend toward the door.

"I'm sorry, Ryou," he said as he stepped out. "I really am." The door slammed behind him.

Neither of themselves allowed themselves to cry until they were completely alone.

XXXX

Seira-g: Well, I got it done. This looked so much longer in my notebook.

Ryou: I really hate you right now, you know that?

Seira-g: Why? What did I do this time?

Marik: Did you even READ what you just wrote!

Seira-g: Oh. That.

Bakura: You two have it easy. I'm dead, you know?

Marik and Ryou: **Trust us. We know.**

Seira-g: So, anyway. I'll update this again faster if I get more than the one review I got last chapter.

Bakura: *mutters* That's all it deserves.

Seira-g: Shut up, fluffy.


	7. Revelation

Yeah, sorry, this is a short chapter. But it's kind of an important one, so I guess that makes up for it, right?

_There hadn't been anything particularly different about that particular night. Ryou was with Marik again, after a particularly bad fight with Bakura. The two were sitting side by side on Marik's couch, Ryou all but curled up into Marik's shoulder._

"_Hey, Marik. Could I ask you something?" Ryou asked, without looking up at the man next to him. _

"_Yeah? What is it, Ryou?"_

_Ryou finally looked up into Marik's eyes. "If Bakura wasn't here… would you care if I was in love with you?"_

_ Marik stared down at Ryou, speechless. _

_ "…What? Why are you asking that now?" Ryou's face flushed, and he buried his face back into Marik's shoulder._

_ "I don't know. Just curious, I guess."_

XXX

Marik stared at his hands. That was all he'd been able to do all night, ever since he had returned from Ryou's place. The same thoughts and images had been swirling around his head for at least the past several hours. His hands, covered in blood. His hands, those very same hands, stroking Ryou's hair not an hour later.

_The knife isn't the murderer. The person holding the knife is. _Marik shook his head, trying to get rid of the suddenly- appearing phrase. He couldn't remember where exactly he had heard it before, but he thought that it fit his situation eerily well. The knife hadn't killed Bakura. It had been his own hands that committed the murder.

XXXX

Ryou honestly couldn't describe at that moment. On the one hand, he was still completely shocked- anyone would be if they had just found out about a dead body in their home created by their best friend. But at the same time, he felt… _safe_, almost. For the first time in over a year, he didn't have to worry about Bakura trying to hurt him. Was that wrong of him? Was it bad that he almost wanted to _thank_ Marik for what he had done?

XXX

Marik rose to his feet as he heard the familiar ring of his cell phone. He picked it up and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Marik?" A soft, familiar voice came from the other end.

"Ryou? Why are you calling so late?"

"I… well… I think I'm ready for you to come back over. Could you?" Ryou asked with a shaky voice. "I really don't want to spend the night alone, so…"

Marik was speechless. He could understand the feeling, but it seemed a little bit strange to him.

"That's fine, but I-"

"Look, we can talk over here, alright?" Ryou said quickly. "Just come over." From over the phone, Marik couldn't tell if the emotion he heard in Ryou's voice was anxiety or just excitement, but he had a feeling that Ryou wouldn't tell him unless he actually went over to his house.

"Alright," he said hesitantly. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Okay." Marik heard a small click and a dial tone, signaling the end of the call. He shoved his phone into his pocket, and threw on a pair of shoes before heading outside. The dark air was crisp and cool, an average night for that time of year. Marik decided to enjoy the weather and walk- Ryou was close enough as it was; no need to waste perfectly good gas.

"So if he's inviting me over, that means he's not _too_ angry at me, right?" Marik figured he was only getting his hopes up. Ryou probably meant to tell him never to come back after this. _But he could have done that over the phone…_

He couldn't stand this anymore. He wasn't going to get any answers just by sitting around, wallowing in his own guilt and self-pity. He needed Ryou to be the one who gave him his final judgement. He needed Ryou to say that he could be forgiven.

He needed Ryou. _He NEEDED Ryou._

"It's true," Marik whispered to himself as he quickened his pace. "I need him. Damn it, I should have known it from the beginning. I was never doing any of this for me. I was doing it for him."

_Because I loved him._

Seira-g: So the angstshipping is finally coming in! Yays!

Marik: ABOUT TIME.

Seira-g: Hmm, somebody sounds excited. XD

Ryou: Um, yeah, but only because it's been in the summary since the first chapter…

Marik: Yeah. I'm excited **For the fans**.

Seira-g: Suuuure. *coughbullcrapcough*

Ryou: …Just review. Marik won't admit it, but he can't wait for future chapters.

Marik: ! *Shoots Ryou out of embarrassment*

Seira-g: Oh noes! REVIEW TO REVIVE RYOU FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	8. Forgiveness

Another update is here! Yays~!

_If Ryou could have screamed at that moment, he would have. He was backed into a corner now; he had nowhere to run._

_ The man in front of him twisted his face into a sadistic grin. "So, Ryou, would you care to tell me where you were this afternoon?" The words were spat out with so much venom that it felt like yet another slap in the face to the quivering boy._

_ "I-I was-"_

_ "Don't give me that stuttering bullshit! Speak up!" Bakura moved in closer to Ryou, who instinctively flinched at the warm breath hitting his face. "If you don't have anything to hide, than why are you acting so scared?"_

_ "I'm not… scared…"_

_ "If that's the case, then let's try this again. What was so important that it was worth coming home late?"_

_ "It was my turn to clean the classrooms. But I swear, I really did try to get home as fast as I could!"_

_ Bakura only laughed in response."Really? I thought you had a bit more creativity than that."_

_ "What are you talking about?" Ryou said desperately._

_ "There's no way it was that. I bet you were sleeping around or something."_

_ All the blood drained instantly from Ryou's face. He wanted so much to scream "You're wrong!" but his lips refused to respond to his demands. Bakura's smirk stayed on his face._

_ "It's not good to lie, Ryou," he whispered. "If you had told me the truth from the beginning, I could have let you off a bit easier." He stood up and headed to the door._

_ "Unless you want an even more severe punishment, I would suggest you stay in that spot until I get back." Ryou nodded quickly and quietly, and Bakura left his sight._

_ "I don't have much time," Ryou murmured, digging around in his pockets. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and punched in a familiar number._

_ "Please, pick up…" Ryou had never wanted anything so much in his entire lifetime as he wanted to hear the voice of that certain person on the other end._

_ 'Please please please…' he pleaded in his own mind, faster and faster; he needed this ,Bakura would be back soon-_

_ "Hello?" Ryou had to stop himself from sighing with relief._

_ "M-Marik? Is that you?"_

_ "Yeah, why?"_

_ "I need you to come help me! He- he's- oh, God, he's coming in! Just come to my place. Now." Before he could hear Marik's answer, Ryou slammed the phone shut, managing to hide it just as Bakura appeared in the doorway. Humming and smiling, he took the few steps he needed to get close to Ryou._

_ "I'm back," he said, a fake sweetness to his voice. "Which means… it's time for your punishment!"_

_ "No… I swear, I didn't-"_

_ "You realize that fighting back will only make things worse for yourself, right?" Bakura's smile never left his face, although his eyes were starting to show signs of annoyance. "Now, let's get started." Without any more hesitation, Bakura brought out what he had been hiding behind his back._

_ A silver, shiny razor blade._

_ Despite the fact that Ryou hadn't thought it was possible, his face went even paler._

_ "W-w-what are you…" the man in front of him laughed._

_ "Don't worry. I don't intend to kill you." He placed the blade against his arm. It felt ice cold against Ryou's skin, which sent a chill down his spine. The cold sensation quickly turned to one of sudden pain as the razor was not-so-carefully dragged across his unwilling arm._

_ "I thought I told you that acting scared would only make things worse," Bakura muttered through gritted teeth. He raised the blade high and slashed Ryou's arm a second time. And again. And again. Over and over, Bakura slashed little lines into Ryou's skin until it became no fun. As the taller man rose, he never took his cool gaze off of Ryou._

_ "I love you," he said softly. "So I have to punish you if you try to leave me. Understand?" Ryou could only nod, terrified of what would happen if he didn't agree._

_ "Good." Bakura smiled, as though the events of the past five minutes had never happened. He left Ryou sitting on the living room floor, eyes wide in fear._

_ This wasn't the first time that Bakura had hurt Ryou- it had been occurring more and more frequently lately- but he couldn't remember a time that it had been quite this severe._

_ "Damn it, Marik, where are you? Ryou clutched his throbbing arm, trying to stop the crimson flow that was still streaming from his injuries, trickling down in little droplets onto the floor. He considered getting up to bandage it, but part of him said that Bakura would hurt him more if they saw each other too soon._

Tap tap.

_ Ryou looked up as he heard a swift knock on the door. It couldn't possibly be…_

_ "Marik," he whispered, eyes filling with tears. "You did come, didn't you…" He rose and took the few steps to reach the door. It was opened to the other side in an instant, revealing a tall, tan male with platinum- blonde hair. Ryou felt his eyes simultaneously brighten and form tears of relief._

_ "Marik… you're…"_

_ The Egyptian gave a quick half-smile. "You never invite me over. I figured it had to be something important." His face fell as his eyes drifted to the blood staining Ryou's arm._

_ "No way… you didn't… did you…?" Ryou shook his head violently._

_ "N-no, I would never…" he tried to smile, but the stress from everything that had happened broke him down completely. He wrapped his arms tightly around Marik, staining his white t-shirt with red smudges._

_ Marik smiled too, although much more awkwardly. "R-Ry?"_

_ "There's something I need to tell you, Marik," Ryou said, staring up at his friend with eyes that expressed complete seriousness and honesty._

_ "Um, okay, but shouldn't you take care of that first?" Marik pointed to Ryou's bloody arm._

_ "That can wait."_

_ "O-okay."_

_ "It's Bakura," Ryou quickly blurted out. "He's been really different lately."_

_ Marik looked puzzled. "How…? Oh God, he didn't…" Ryou nodded solemnly, confirming his friend's fears._

_ "That's right. Bakura did this to me. And I think it's only going to get worse from here." The boy tightened his grip around Marik's waist._

_ "I'm scared, Marik. I think that if I'm not careful, he'll kill me."_

_ Marik was speechless. He looked down into Ryou's eyes, searching for anything resembling humor or exaggeration. To his horror, he only found complete honesty._

_ "I'll help you." Marik felt the words fall from his mouth as quickly as they formed in his mind. And yet, he knew that he wouldn't take them back even if he could, glancing down at Ryou, who stared up into his eyes. They held a glimmer of hope._

_ "…Really?"_

_ "Yeah. If he ever tries to hurt you again, you can come over. I'm home most of the time."_

_ Ryou smiled. "Okay."_

XXX

Marik couldn't believe he hadn't realized it until now. All this time he had been going along with his gut, doing what he thought he was supposed to do. But he understood now- it was all because he wanted Bakura gone, and not for the reasons he had initially thought.

"But what am I supposed to tell Ryou?" he wondered aloud. "What if he really is calling me over to say how much he hates me?"

It didn't matter, Marik's feet pounded against the pavement, his chest pulsed , the effect of his increasing speed. He ran and ran, feeling as though his destination was in a race against him. But finally he was approaching it. He reached his hand out, claiming his prize as it came within his reach.

_Okay, I can do this._ Marik stepped up to the door and took a deep breath, knocking on the door.

Ryou must have been anticipating his arrival, because there he was, almost immediately after Marik lowered his hand.

"…Come in." There was a certain tone to Ryou's voice that Marik couldn't quite place. Was it contempt? Or was he just trying to appear emotionless?

Ryou led Marik inside. "You can sit down, if you want," he said with the same expressionless tone. "You want tea? Or coffee?"

"It's okay, I'm fine." Marik shifted uncomfortably. Was it his imagination, or was Ryou acting… distant? Un-ryou-like?

The two of them sat down on the couch- formerly occupied by Bakura's body- next to each other. Neither dared to utter a single word for what must have been hours, by Marik's count.

"So I've been thinking." It was Ryou who broke the awkward silence. "And I've decided that I should probably thank you."

Marik was speechless. This hadn't been what he was expecting at all.

"Th-_thank_ me?" Ryou's face flushed as he stared down at the floor.

"For everything. You helped me get through every terrible thing that Bakura did to me, never asking for anything in return. You… hell, you even saved my life. So even if you've done one thing wrong-" he pointed to where the body had been moved- "I…"

"I can't accept that, Ryou." Marik clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms. Why had he said that? Hadn't he been the one that was so desperate for forgiveness?

"Why, though?" Ryou said softly. "This is _my_ choice." I _want_ to forgive you."

"So, no matter what my reasons, you'll stand by me? Is that what you're saying?"

Now Ryou looked even more puzzled. "Your 'reason?' why does that matter?" Marik swallowed. This was it- time to put everything out in the open. He couldn't hide anything from himself or Ryou anymore.

_ "_My reason is… it's because… I think even then, when you and Bakura were happy together… I loved you, Ryou." There. He had said it. He couldn't take it back, now that he had managed to get it out.

Ryou could only stare at Marik, mouth open slightly.

"You… oh God, I…"

"I-I know it's kind of crazy. But I think that was why I wanted to help you." He took a deep breath. "And why I wanted Bakura out of the picture."

"Marik…"

"So don't get the wrong idea, okay? I mean, sure, I wanted to do something for you, but-"

"_Marik."_ Ryou's voice was gentle yet firm. "That doesn't matter to me." The Egyptian finally turned to look at him, eyes wide.

"Ry…ou…"

"Do you remember what I said that one time? About how, if Bakura wasn't there, that I might love you?" Ryou smiled, moving closer to Marik's face until the tips of their noses touched. "Because it's true. Always has been…" He placed his lips right by Marik's ear. "…And always will be." After that, neither one of them could speak anymore. The distance between their lips was sealed, and they kissed each other for the first time.

"But can we take things slow?" murmured Ryou when they finally broke apart. "I don't need anything like what happened between Bakura and me to happen with us." He looked to his side, but got no response from the man sitting next to him, snoring softly and resting his head on Ryou's shoulder. He smiled, closing his eyes.

"Nothing would happen," he whispered, drifting off to sleep. "Not with you."

XXX

Ryou should have known it was coming. After everything that had been revealed to him today, there was no way that he wouldn't wake up in that familiar, hazy darkness. But it still came as a surprise when he heard that familiar, echoing voice come from the shadows.

_Hello, Ryou._

"W-what do you want?" Ryou had been trying to act tough, but a slip of the tongue only made him sound nervous.

_When are you going to learn, Ryou? That you don't have to be afraid of me?_

"I-I'm not afraid…"

_Then maybe you should stop stuttering._

Ryou had had enough. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. But before he could speak, more words came from the empty spaces around him.

_So, how does it feel? Knowing the truth isn't all it's cracked up to be, is it?_

"Shut up! Tell me who you are, and why you're here!" The voice laughed.

_To think, you really don't recognize me… but then, I suppose we were never properly introduced. Do you remember how Bakura used to be? I'm the one who changed him. By names Touzoku, and I want you to know that you haven't seen the last of me just because Bakura is dead._

XXXXX

Seira-g: Sigh…

Bakura: What are you sighing about now?

Seira-g: I only got one review on the last chapter. T.T

Bakura: So?

Seira-g: You wouldn't understand, Kura! This thing used to be so much more popular!

Bakura: Seriously? Get over it. And people reading this? Review just to shut her up.

Seira-g: Yes, please… I've never worked so hard and long to make a chapter of anything before, so I would appreciate your feedback.

Bakura: Attention whore.

Seira-g: Yep.


	9. Revealing the Voices

Sigh… this is the fourth or fifth version of this chapter I've written, and I'm still not that satisfied with it. But since I'm home with some annoying cold, I'm just going to post it. Hopefully this will go well.

Ryou awoke with a start. His body was coated in a thin, cold layer of sweat that usually accompanied a nightmare. Which made sense, considering what he had just dreamt. Or was it a dream at all? Ryou wasn't sure any more.

The first thing he saw as he turned his head slightly was Marik, still sleeping unaffected on his shoulder. Ryou gazed at his face, unconsciously playing with his blonde hair.

_If he's going to come back for me, does that mean Marik will…_ Ryou couldn't even bear to finish the terrible thought. He couldn't bear to think that Marik, the very person that kept him together, could cause him to fall apart.

"You wouldn't hurt me," he murmured, closing his eyes. "Right?"

XXX

Ryou knew he had to say something. That he was going to have to warn Marik about Touzoku, and the danger he could pose for both of them.

And there was no better time than the present, was there?

The only problem was, he couldn't get the words out. He opened his mouth multiple times, but he couldn't force the words out. He looked at the floor, then back at Marik, who had picked up on Ryou's cues that he wanted to speak. Ryou's mouth was dry, he cleared his throat.

No. He couldn't keep this up; Marik was getting suspicious. But he had to start the conversation somehow…

"I'm going to make breakfast," he said quickly as he stood up, smiling.

"Ryou, if you have something to say, hurry up and say it." Ryou turned to look at Marik, who had the beginning of an irritated expression on his face. He swallowed. He had been being really obvious, after all.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," he said lamely. Marik intensified his glare, and Ryou knew he had no choice but to sit back down.

"Fine. I'll say it." Marik continued to stare at him as he took a deep breath.

"So, I've been having these dreams lately…" Ryou then proceeded to tell his boyfriend about every little thing the voice had said to him. He found that as he continued to speak, the words flowed more and more easily.

Marik watched Ryou, never saying a word or even nodding.

"…And that's what happened." Ryou sighed as he finished, putting his arms around Marik's neck.

Marik didn't say anything. No, he _couldn't_ say anything.

"You… believe me, don't you…?" Ryou whispered, looking at Marik with pleading eyes.

"Ryou, I… what do you want me to say? I mean, it's not that I don't believe you, but… I don't think you should be putting so much energy into worrying about a dream."

"So you DON'T believe me." Ryou's voice was stone cold. "You don't believe that Touzoku exists. That he could be coming for you next."

Marik placed his hand on Ryou's back and smiled nervously. "It's not that I don't believe you-"

"Is that really true?" Ryou asked, his lower lip trembling. "Or is it that you don't want to believe?"

"Ryou, what are you-"

"I think that's it. I think you don't want to believe so that you don't have to think that what you did was wrong. No, you want to believe that killing Bakura solved everything.

Marik couldn't find anything to say. Between his eyes- emotionless other than a few tears falling down- and his brutal honesty that hit Marik straight in the gut, this person was nothing like the Ryou he knew. He glanced down for a moment, then back at Ryou. Sure enough, he was back to his normal face.

"Are you alright?" Ryou asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Y-yeah," Marik stammered, attempting to smile. I'm fine."

"Alright…" Ryou looked unconvinced, but continued talking as though nothing had happened. He tightened his grip around Marik's waist.

"Will you promise me something?" he murmured. "No matter what happens, promise you won't leave me."

"Okay," Marik said, but was curious inside. _What does he mean?_

"Everybody leaves me. I'm sure you will, too."

"What?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

XXX

Ryou hadn't expected another dream to come so quickly after the last. And yet there he was, floating in the ever-present darkness.

Touzoku wasted no time with greetings. _You told him._ Ryou could hear the venom in the voice.

"So what if I did?"

_Oh, nothing. Trust me, it will be much more disastrous for you than for me._ Touzoku must have sensed Ryou's confusion, because he laughed.

_Marik probably thinks you're completely crazy now. After all, most people don't hear strange voices in their heads._

_ "_But it's like he said- it was just a dream."

Touzoku laughed again before continuing. _If that's what you want to believe, believe it. Once again you'll be taking his word over mine. And look where that got you._

XXX

Marik couldn't sleep at all that night, He was too busy thinking about everything Ryou had told him. No_,_ he kept thinking about Ryou himself. He must have really believed in these dreams to get so worked up about Marik's reaction. He turned to look at Ryou, who had been asleep for over an hour.

"I wonder if he's having one of those weird dreams again," he murmrered.

"…So what if I did?" As though he was answering Marik's question, Ryou started mumbling in his sleep. Marik closed his eyes. It was like he had thought.

" 'S like he said. Just a dream."

"Ryou…?" Marik was starting to become a bit nervous. When had Ryou ever talked in his sleep before?

Marik lightly shook Ryou to try and wake him up.

"Ryou? Hey, Ryou, wake up."

"Nnn…" Ryou's eyes twitched for a moment before fluttering open.

"Marik? What're you doing?" he muttered, rubbing the blurriness of sleep from his eyes.

"You sounded like you were having one of those dreams again. Am I right?"

"Is that it? Geez, Marik, you-" Ryou couldn't finish his thought before a long, twisted cackle rang through his mind.

_Still think it's a dream, Ryou?_

XXXXXXXX

Seira-g: Hmm, I think I made some improvements from the written version.

Ryou: That usually happens for you.

Seira-g: Yeah….

Bakura: Why are you acting emo NOW? You got four reviews last chapter!

Seira-g: Huh? Oh, just still not a big fan of the chapter, that's all.

Bakura, Ryou, and Marik: GET OVER IT.

Seira-g: But I don't-

Ryou: *Shoots* Review, everyone? I really don't want to hear her complain anymore.


	10. Smile

I'm reeeeeeally sorry about the amount of time it took to update this! It took me a while to figure out where I wanted this story to go, and even now I'm not too sure about it. But I didn't forget about it! That's what matters! Ahem… I should get to the story.

Ryou's entire body immediately went numb. He knew he had to be imagining things- Touzoku _wasn't real_. Marik had said it, and Ryou believed him. But he had heard it. The voice that had taken over his nightmares.

Marik noticed the haunted expression on Ryou's face. "Ry, are you all ri-"

Ryou let out a bloodcurdling scream in response. He grabbed at his hair with his hands, trying to stop his entire body from the violent shaking overtaking it.

"Ryou, are you okay-"

"No…" Ryou whispered pitifully. "Stop it…" Tears were streaming down his face, and although Marik had seen him cry several times before, this was on a level that not even he could handle. He tentatively put his arm around his lover, stroking his hair with his free hand.

"You're okay," he muttered softly into Ryou's ear. "You're okay, so please, calm down, alright, Ry?"

Ryou shook his head, still sobbing, and Marik decided that the only thing he could do was sit there with him, letting him cry. Just like he always had, before everything had taken a turn for the worst. He wanted to laugh at the irony of it all. His "help" had gotten them right back where they started. Had it really been so terrible to want to see him smile again?

They sat there like that for at least ten minutes before Ryou sniffed and looked up at Marik, who was still stroking his hair gently.

"Why?" he asked softly. "Why do you stay with me? When I'm like this, you could leave. Never look back. So why? Why do you stay?"

Marik tightened his grip around Ryou's small frame. "I could spend hours listing reasons. But I think I'll go with a much simpler answer." And he tilted Ryou's face toward him, bringing their faces closer until their lips connected. Ryou's mouth carried the sweet taste of vanilla, as it always had. Ryou was surprised at first, but quickly moved his body closer to Marik's, returning the kiss gently. Neither one of the two wanted to pull apart at that moment. Everything was resolved with that one, simple kiss.

Ryou was the first to pull away. "You didn't have to do that," he said quickly, catching his breath. "You could have just said something like, 'I love you.'"

Marik smiled. "But that would have been boring."

And then he saw it. The thing he had been waiting for for so long. It started off as only a twitch of the lip, but the smile on Ryou's face quickly turned into a grin.

"Wouldn't want you to get bored, Marik," he said seriously, causing both of them to go into a fit of hysterics.

_This is what I've been wanting the whole time,_ Marik thought. _Even if we had to go through hell to get here._

Xxx

And so the days passed, with each one a little bit better than the last. Ryou stopped breaking down quite as often, little by little, until the "attacks" (as they had come to be known as) rarely came at all.

So maybe that's why it seemed so sudden when it happened. It was a sunny day in mid May, and the two were on their favorite bench in the town park. They got some strange looks from passerby, but the two had learned to ignore them, instead choosing to sit in each other's arms.

"Do you ever think about him?" Marik asked that day, completely out of the blue. "Bakura, I mean." He hadn't mentioned the name with any malicious intent, only curiosity. But Ryou started shaking, and Marik knew that it had been a bad idea.

"Do you?" came the response. But it didn't sound normal in the least, coming from Ryou. The voice was ice cold, just like…

"No way," Marik whispered. "I'm sorry, I'll change the subject…" Because he knew. This wasn't the real Ryou. And he had only heard this voice one other time.

The person beside him continued on, as though Marik had said nothing. "I wonder if people who murder others think about the victims at all?"

"Stop…"

"Would it be guilt? Or satisfaction?"

"I SAID STOP IT!" The whole world paused, as Marik screamed. In a fit of adrenaline, he shoved Ryou as hard as he could off of the bench.

As soon as Marik came back to his senses, he glanced down at "Ryou." But it was the real Ryou again. His big brown eyes stared up into Marik's, the hurt evident in his expression.

"Marik… what are you…"

Marik's eyes widened as he realized what he had done. "Ryou, I'm sorr-"

The boy on the ground shook his head. "No, I'm sorry… I really was a burden to you all along, wasn't I…?"

"Ryou, wait, I-" but he knew it was pointless. Nobody would believe something like "You turned into someone completely different." Which was why Marik could only watch as his lover got up and ran away in tears.

XXX

Even if it's short, I'm glad I wrote this- I CAN MAYBE POSSIBLY SEE WHERE THIS STORY IS GOING! But- and you know what's coming next- you won't find out unless you review~!


	11. Tears

What's this? Another update so quickly? Le gasp!

_A year ago, everything had still been normal. Bakura and Ryou had no problems together, and Marik and Ryou had a perfectly normal friendship. In fact, the three of them routinely went out as a group. Anyone who saw them would have said the same- that they were a perfectly normal group of friends. But slowly, things unraveled. People changed in that little group, and as hard as they tried, they couldn't reassemble._

_It wasn't exactly something that could happen overnight. In fact, it was something that everyone involved had seen coming. It wasn't hard to see at all. Bakura was growing more distant every day, to the confusion of the other two. He routinely picked fights with Marik, who had done nothing wrong. He refused to let Ryou and Marik near each other, but was at Ryou's side every moment of every day._

_But things were different between the two lovers as well. No, strange was a better word for it. Those words of love that Bakura had once whispered every day to the boy, as well as the tender embraces and sweet kisses, were growing less and less frequent, eventually becoming no more than a faint memory._

_To put it simply, Bakura was controlling, Marik was confused, and Ryou was miserable._

_Ryou should have seen it coming, really. All the warning signs were there. Bakura was becoming cold and distant, almost to the point of being cruel. He stopped calling Ryou nicknames, doing anything sweet he had ever done. But it was still a shock, when Bakura hit him for the first time._

_It had started out simply enough. Ryou was cooking dinner, and Bakura was relaxing on the couch. Ryou had been planning to cook something extravagant for the two of them. After all, Bakura had been raising his standards for the boy lately, and Ryou wanted to meet them._

"_Are you almost done?" Bakura complained. "I'm getting hungry."_

"_It'll be done when it's done, Bakura. Try being patient for once."_

_Bakura's jaw dropped. Ryou never spoke back to him. He was supposed to be the kind, submissive one. So why was he acting so strange?_

_No. It didn't matter why. What mattered was that Ryou had said something that angered him. In a voice that sounded nothing like his own._

"_What did you say?"_

_Ryou turned around slowly. What Bakura saw was enough to send a chill down his spine. Ryou had a thin smile on his face and his eyes were almost completely lifeless._

"_What's wrong, Bakura? Do you not like being spoken to this way? Because last I checked, this is how you've been treating Marik and I for the past month. It hurts, doesn't it?"_

_Bakura was terrified. He had never seen anyone act like this before, let alone Ryou. "G-get back, Ryou."_

_Ryou laughed, in a way that made Bakura shiver. "Why? Don't tell me you're scared. Or upset. Because you, of all people, wouldn't deserve that."_

'" _Shut up, Ryou." Bakura gave all the strength he had to not let his voice shake. "Shut up, before I make you."_

"_You would make me, wouldn't you? You like making me feel pain, right?"_

"_SHUT UP!" Bakura couldn't stand it anymore. He had no idea why Ryou was acting like this, but he wasn't going to put up with it. He ran as fast as he could towards the boy, only one thought in his head. He clenched his fist and stuck it out in front of him, waiting for it to reach his target-_

Thwack.

_Bakura's fist reached Ryou's face, hitting him directly in the nose. There was a sickening crunch, and as soon as he pulled his hand away, Ryou crumpled to the ground. Blood was seeping through his fingers as he held them to his throbbing nose. Slowly, he brought up his head to stare at Bakura. His eyes had returned to normal, and they were filling with tears. He had a hurt expression on his face._

_ "Bakura…" he whispered. "Why…?"_

_ "I had to do it," he said slowly. "I'm sorry, but you were-"_

_ Ryou winced and attempted a smile. "No, I get it, Bakura." Slowly, he stood up and walked away._

_ Bakura buried his hands in his face. He knew he should feel guilty, but deep down, he felt that this person he had punched had deserved it. Whether it was Ryou or not. And he made a promise to himself- if this side of Ryou ever showed up again, he would make him pay._

Xxx

It was getting dark outside, but Marik had no intention of leaving the park. He had thought about chasing after Ryou, but had decided against it. There was no way that Ryou would want to see him after everything that happened.

It was strange. Why was Marik suddenly seeing this side of Ryou? It hadn't started until recently, so something must have been the trigger. Although with everything that had happened, it was hard to pinpoint just one thing. But one thing he knew for sure- there was no way that had been Ryou.

Marik sighed and leaned back, sinking into the bench. He didn't want to think about it, but… What he had done to Ryou…

It was exactly what Bakura had been doing to Ryou.

Everything was the same so far. Both had started out as happy couples that eventually spun into violence.

"Bakura," Marik murmured, staring up at the starry sky. "Was it really your fault?" It was a thought that had been weighing on him ever since he first saw the other side of Ryou. "Because if it wasn't, I'm sorry." Marik wasn't aware at first of the tears pricking at his eyes.

"If it really wasn't your fault, then will you help me? Help me get to the bottom of this?" He broke down completely, not caring if the few people left hanging around watched.

"I want to save him."

Xxx

Ryou ran as fast as he could away from the scene. He couldn't remember the last time he had run this fast, at any time. Other than when he was running from Bakura.

Eventually, Ryou found a small alleyway. He had heard bad things about places like these, but at the moment, he didn't care. He sat up against the wall, bringing his knees up against his chest.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" he asked himself quietly. "I haven't done anything, have I? So why does everyone always turn on me?" He bit his lower lip so hard it bled, trying to stop himself from crying, to no avail.

"IT ISN'T FAIR!" he screamed out. Some people turned their heads, but he was otherwise ignored.

All of a sudden, it hit him. He wasn't clear on the details, but at that moment he was sure of one thing.

That it was all Touzoku's fault.

Xxxxx

That played out a lot more clearly in my head. And now I'm officially stuck again. Yay for that! Buuuuuut… drumroll please… Reviews help me get motivated to think up new ideas! Until next time!


	12. An Old Friend

_It had been another one of _those_ days for Ryou. He didn't even know what he had done this time, but Bakura had done it again. Beaten Ryou until his skin bruised, his body in a crumpled heap on the floor._

_ Ryou's body hurt too much to move as Bakura slipped out of the room, a neutral expression on his face as though nothing had happened. All he wanted to do was complete his normal routine for when this happened- go to Marik's house, let himself be comforted by the Egyptian's words. But his body had other ideas, as every tiny move he made sent a scream of pain through his entire body, especially his left arm. _

_ "I won't cry," he whispered, so faint that even he could barely hear it. "That's what he wants me to do. I won't give him the… satisfaction…" but the next wave of never ending pain was so intense that he couldn't stay strong anymore. He felt warm droplets of water stream down his face, and once they started, they refused to stop._

I could always try getting to my cell phone,_ he thought. _Then I could call him. _But when he moved his left arm to dig through his pocket, he had to stifle a scream. To his horror, when he looked down at his side, it was bent at an unnatural angle. It must have been hit so hard that it had broken._

_ But he had to get to his phone. He had to call Marik, especially if he couldn't get there on his own. So he took a deep breath, held it, and rolled just the tiniest bit to the side, reaching his good arm around his body so that he could reach into his pocket. It took some fishing around, but he managed to get it out of his pocket and into his hand. He flipped it open, dialed his friend's number, and listened to the dial tone, hoping that he would answer._

_ "…Ryou?" The boy let out a huge sigh of relief._

_ "Marik… come here, now," Ryou said quickly into the phone._

_ "What?" Marik said, his tone rising. "Was it Bakura again?" _

_ "Yes. Now please, just come over!" Ryou said, his voice rising from a mixture of pain and anxiety. Ryou heard a click on the other end, and somehow knew that Marik was on his way._

_ While he waited, Ryou could do nothing but lie there, motionless in pain. But at least now it was just his arm and the side he was laying on. And besides, Marik was coming. That alone was enough to dull the pain, if only a little bit. And Bakura had left, which meant that the two wouldn't be seeing each other for a while._

_ It was around ten minutes before Ryou heard the door open again. "Ryou?" A voice called out. "Ryou, where are you?"_

_ "I'm in my room," Ryou responded, as loudly as his aching body would allow. He heard footsteps, getting louder each second until he saw a pair of feet by his face. He moved his head to stare upward and saw Marik, who was staring down at Ryou with a concerned expression on his face._

_ It only took one moment of looking into Marik's eyes for Ryou to break down sobbing all over again. When Marik saw this, he crouched down next to Ryou._

_ "What happened this time?" Marik asked softly. "What the hell did he do to you?" Marik was clearly trying and failing to control his anger. _

_ "I don't know," Ryou said honestly. "He came in here, and next thing I knew, he was hitting me, yelling at me." Ryou wrapped his good arm around Marik, burying his face in his shoulder. "I don't know what to do any more, Marik. I don't know how much longer I can take this."_

_ Marik didn't say anything. He wanted to give Ryou some sort of advice, but he knew that anything he said would be of no help. But he knew he had to say something when those next words came out of Ryou's mouth._

_ "I want to die, Marik."_

_ "No!" Marik blurted out. Ryou looked up at Marik and his face turned red. _

_ "Uh, I mean, um… sorry, I wouldn't really...But you know I wouldn't… I couldn't…" he stammered, saying whatever sounded right at that moment._

_ There was almost no expression on Marik's face as he said, "We should probably go to the hospital. Your arm looks pretty bad."_

_ Ryou looked down at the floor. "Yeah. Sorry about this." Marik said nothing and helped Ryou up from the floor. _

_ "Can you walk?" _

_ "Y-yeah. I think I'm fine."_

_ The two were silent for about half of the short car ride. Finally, Marik was the one to break the silence._

_ "I don't want you saying things like that anymore. Things like 'I want to die.'"_

_ "Why, though?" Ryou said quietly. "Wouldn't it mean less trouble for you if I was dead?"_

_ "Don't say things like that, either! I hate it!" Marik looked honestly angry now. "Look, Ryou, have I ever told you about my best friend from elementary school?"_

_ "No. But why are you bringing it up now?"_

_ "Because he killed himself when I was in 8__th__ grade, right after I met you." Ryou's mouth went dry. Was this why he was so touchy about the whole thing?_

_ "I'm sorry," Ryou muttered, although it did nothing to break the tension hanging over them. "Um, what was his name?" Marik swallowed._

_ "Ren. Ren Touzoku."_

_ Xxx_

Marik didn't arrive home until late that night. He knew that once he got home, he would have to face Ryou. And after what he had seen- no, what he had _done_- he knew it would be tense between the two of them.

All of a sudden, his stomach rumbled, and he realized that he hadn't eaten since that morning. Before he sat down, he decided to get something from the refrigerator.

But as he went to open the heavy white door, he noticed something. The calendar. More specifically, what was written on the date only a week from today.

_5 year anniversary. Visit Ren._

_ Ren._

It was something Marik had completely forgotten about, even though it stared him in the face every day of that month. He felt like an idiot for forgetting.

"I'm sorry, Ren," he mouthed. "I'll see you in a week."

But then, something hit him.

Ren.

Ren Touzoku.

_Touzoku._

Marik's body went completely numb. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized it until now. _It's impossible_, he thought. _There's no way there could be a connection between them. _But it was too convenient to be a coincidence.

Touzoku had to be Ren.

Xxx

Even after it got dark, Ryou still sat in that alleyway. He couldn't bring himself to go home yet. Not after everything that had happened. But he was sure that no matter how late he stayed out, Marik wouldn't care.

Ryou heard his familiar ringtone coming from his pocket, interrupting his thoughts. _Who would be calling me at this time of night? _He wondered as he went to check his phone.

He almost didn't want to answer it when he saw who it was. The only reason he could think of for Marik to be calling him was to apologize for earlier. And Ryou wasn't ready to hear that yet.

And yet, against his better judgment, he found himself flipping it open.

"What do you want?"

"Ryou, I need you to come home. Now. We need to talk about something," came a rushed voice on the other side.

"Marik, if this is about earlier, I don't want to ta-"

"No, it isn't! Please, just meet me back here." Marik's voice was pleading, and Ryou sighed.

"Fine. I'll see you in a few minutes." Ryou shut the phone and slowly stood up, his legs stiff from sitting too long. He didn't know what Marik had to say, but he knew that it had to be important for him to be so panicked. The last time he had seen him like that was _that_ night.The night that Marik had saved his life. Which meant that it had to be a big deal.

Ryou's walk broke into a run. He was curious now, and wanted to hear what Marik had to say.

It took about 5 minutes for Ryou to get home, and when he burst through the door, he almost crashed into Marik, who despite his tanned skin looked remarkably pale.

"Sit down, Ryou." Marik must have had time to calm down a bit, as he didn't sound nearly as frantic as he had earlier.

When they were both sitting on the couch, Marik took a deep breath.

"Ryou, do you remember what I told you that one day about a year ago? The day Bakura broke your arm?"

Ryou looked puzzled. "What does that have to do with anythi-"

"Do you remember, Ryou?" Marik's voice was firm and forceful. "Do you?"

"You said a lot that day," Ryou said quietly. "What are you talking about?"

"What I told you about my friend. Ren. Do you remember what his last name was?"

"Why are you asking me this? How am I supposed to remember?"

"It was Touzoku, Ryou." Ryou's eyes widened. "Ren Touzoku."

"No…" Ryou whispered. "There's no way…" Marik nodded.

"That's right. If my theory is right, it's the same Touzoku that you were talking about a few months back."

XXX

Okay, I'll admit, even I didn't know where this was going until today. But I worked really hard on it- even if it is short- so could you please review?


	13. Confirmation

Another update so soon… surprised? So am I. But I really want to get this fic done, as it's been going for almost a year. So hopefully, there will only be a few chapters left.

When Ryou awoke to the darkness again, it was just as surprising as not. He had been expecting it to return sooner or later, and after what Marik had done and said, it was almost unavoidable. But it hadn't happened in so long that Ryou couldn't help but be startled.

The voice began to speak before Ryou could get a grip on what was going on. "It's been a while since we last met, hasn't it, Ryou?" the words were spit out with cheerful venom that sent a chill down Ryou's spine.

"Who are you, really?" The boy, who was sick of the voice's mind games, wasted no time getting to the question he most wanted to ask. "Are you _him?_ The person Marik was telling me about?"

There was a laugh coming from the darkness. "Oh my, you sure have gotten more aggressive since we first met, haven't you?"

"Answer the question," Ryou growled. "Are you, or are you not, Ren Touzoku?"

More laughter surrounded him. "Let me guess- Marik told you this, didn't he? And you feel inclined to believe him once again?"

"Answer the damn question, Touzoku."

"Okay, then. Let me tell you a little story. It's about a little boy and another little boy. You see, one of these boys was bullied mercilessly from the day he was born. His mother was a whore, actually, and she had no idea who the boy's father was. This led to quite a bit of prejudice toward him. After all, his mother's sins clearly fell upon him to bear."

"Why are you telling me this, Touzoku? It doesn't answer my question," Ryou muttered angrily.

But the voice continued on, ignoring Ryou's comment. "The boy felt alone all the time, as long as he could remember. Until, of course, he met this other boy. The two became fast friends, and both boys' lives began to brighten."

"Just answer the question." Ryou would have slapped the voice if it had a physical presence.

"But then," the voice said, getting louder and more irritated, "The boy's new friend found someone new to be around. He started ignoring his real friend; the one he said would never be lonely again."

"DAMN IT, ANSWER THE QUESTION!" Ryou wouldn't tolerate this anymore. He was sick of having things hidden from him, especially from this voice, which had been vague from the beginning.

"Alright, fine. If you must know, my name was Ren Touzoku, back when I was still alive. And before you ask, yes, I did commit suicide. Do you want to know why?" He didn't even wait for a response from Ryou, who had gone sheet-white at the response he had been given. "It's all thanks to you and your friend, Marik."

"I never even met you," Ryou said softly. "What do I have to do with this?"

"Because you stole him away from me!" The voice rang out through the endless darkness, the words lingering behind. "That's right," Touzoku said, "if he hadn't met you, then maybe he wouldn't have left me, and I wouldn't have been lonely enough to run that blade over my wrists. Maybe someone would have stepped in, even just noticed me-"

"Marik would never leave one of his friends," Ryou said coolly. A click of the tongue was his response.

"Clearly there's a lot you don't know about your so-called "boyfriend."

Xxx

Ryou had wanted to respond to it. But the voice had left him to be replaced by the early morning sunlight shining on his face. His eyes blinked open, and he stirred a bit before sitting up and stretching.

Before he got out of bed, he looked over to his side. Marik was lying on his side, still fast asleep. His face was so beautiful when he slept, that Ryou couldn't help but reach over to play with a strand of the platinum blonde hair.

"There's no way you would hide something from me," he muttered. "Right?" The blonde mumbled something incomprehensible, most likely sleep talking. Ryou smiled, until he heard what came next.

"Sorry, Ren. 'S my fault… my…NO!"

"…Marik?" Ryou felt bad- he had probably woken the man up- but then again, maybe this was a good thing. It sounded like he was having a nightmare. "Marik, wake up," he decided to say, shaking him lightly.

Marik's eyes shot open. His breath was heavy, and he looked terrified. He sat up and took one glance at Ryou before he broke down.

"Marik…?"

"Ryou… I… ever since I remembered about him, I can't sleep. I keep remembering what happened that day."

Ryou, not knowing what to do to comfort his boyfriend, continued to stroke his hair as he had before waking him up. "It wasn't your fault, Marik. You don't have to worry about it."

Marik turned to stare up at him, eyes completely serious. "You don't know what happened that day, Ryou. For all you know, it was all because of me."

"You wouldn't have done anything like that, Marik. You had nothing to do with it." Ryou wasn't sure anymore of whether he was comforting Marik, or reassuring himself. But Marik's eyes didn't soften at all, still bearing into Ryou's.

"Then clearly, there's a lot you don't know about me."

Ryou swallowed. It was the same thing that Touzoku had told him only a few minutes earlier. Coming from him it had been much easier to believe, but now that he was hearing it directly from the person in question, he wasn't sure what to believe anymore. Marik- the Marik who had saved his life, on so many occasions- could never have played a part in someone else's death.

"It doesn't matter what you say, Ryou. I most definitely played a part in Ren's death. And so did you."

Xxx

Yay for short but important chapters! Or was this filler? I couldn't really tell. But either way, please review- they're what motivate me to keep writing this story!


	14. Last Goodbye

This is it, you guys. The second to last chapter. Well, this is the last official chapter, but I'm planning to do an epilogue after this. I probably won't get all emotional until whenever that gets written, so I'll keep this short, but I'd just like to say thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this little story. Now, on to the chapter!

"_Marik!"_

_A tiny voice called out to the small boy, who turned around with a grin. "Ren? What is it?" _

_ The other boy huffed. "Stop walking so fast! You know how slow I am!"_

_ Marik grinned. "So, you finally admit that you're slow?"_

_ "You know what I meant! Now, wait up!" Ren may have acted angry, but in reality, he couldn't have been happier. He knew what it felt like to be alone, after all, and he also knew that thanks to Marik, he wouldn't have to go back to those days._

_ The two sat on the top of the hill underneath a large oak tree. It had become the spot that they would always return to, every day. Ren continued to smile, feeling as though these were the best moments of his life. _

_ "Hey, Marik," he said as an autumn wind breezed past them. "Do you think we'll be able to stay like this forever?" It was something Ren had been wondering for a long time. Marik was one of the only constant things in his life, after all. Between all the new men his mother brought home and all the people that had left him in the past, this was the closest thing to aconsistent friend he had ever had._

_ "Huh?" Marik's eyes grew wide with curiosity. "Why do you ask, Ren?"_

_ "Nothing. Nothing at all."_

_ XXX_

_ "Ren, this is Ryou." Marik gestured cheerfully to the person standing beside him. "He looked lonely, so I said he could join us today. That's okay, right?"_

_ "Hm?" Ren glanced up from the book he had been reading."Ryou?" he smiled. "Nice to meet you." This person seemed like a friend of Marik's. So he _had_ to be a good person._

_ Ryou returned the soft smile. "Nice to meet you, too," he said softly. "I hope we get along."_

_ "Yeah. Same." Ren took Ryou's hand in his own and shook it. _

_ "Alright, then! Let's go." Marik led the small group to the table where he and Ren had spent so many days previously. Them, plus one extra person._

_ Xxx_

_ Marik's phone began chiming for what had to have been the fifth time that hour. He sighed. Ren had been acting strange lately, always wanting to go somewhere with Marik. Especially when Marik was already busy. "I'm sorry, Ryou," he said to the boy across from him. "I guess I need to take this." Ryou nodded, gesturing him out of the room. _

_ Marik grabbed for his phone, and caught it just before it stopped ringing. "Ren, I'm busy right now."_

_ "Really." The response on the other end wasn't a question, but a cold statement. "And what exactly are you doing, that you can't take five minutes out of your time to answer the phone?" _

_ "I don't see how that's any of your business." Marik was confused, and possibly even a bit frightened. Ren had been like this a lot lately, and he had no idea what the cause was._

_ "Huh?" Now the voice was whimpering and pathetic. "Why are you being so mean, Marik? All I want is to talk to you for a few minutes."_

_ "But it can wait. I'm in the middle of something right now."_

_ "…Alright." Ren finally gave in. "Some other time, then."_

_ "Yeah, sure, okay." Marik didn't even wait for a response before shutting the phone. He entered back into the other room, where Ryou was still waiting to continue their previous conversation._

_ "Who was that?" asked the pale boy._

_ "No one important," Marik said. "So what were you saying before?"_

_ Xxx_

It's my fault.

_That was the first thing that Marik thought when he got the call, three days later. It was his fault. He should have paid more attention. He should have listened. A thousand different "should have's" flew through his mind. He felt weak in the knees, sick to his stomach. He fell to his knees, trembling. _

_Ren was dead._

_Not from an accident, but from slitting his own wrists and throat. His mother had called Marik, describing the scene to him in graphic detail. And the worst part was how calm she stayed throughout the entire conversation. It was as though she was describing a complete stranger, not her own son._

"_It's my fault. It's my fault." Marik didn't move anything but his lips, repeating these words over and over, until it got dark outside. He fell asleep in that spot, his last thoughts filled with regret._

It's my fault.

Xxx

"Marik." The man felt his body being shaken. This was how he had spent each of his mornings for the past several weeks. The dream was unending, haunting him, and every morning, without fail, he would wake up to find himself in Ryou's arms. Then he would grit his teeth, trying to stop himself from sobbing. He was sick of this. Sick of this dream, sick of feeling so pathetic. He had much preferred the days when he could be the strong one, when he was the one protecting Ryou from his emotions. But ever since he had remembered about Ren, he had been the one who needed saving. And he didn't know how much more he could take of it.

_Oh well,_ Marik thought. _Ryou won't care if I cry. _That was when he finally, after all those days (or had it been weeks?), he let the sobs shake his body.

"Marik…" Meanwhile, Ryou was at a complete loss for words. But he continued to stroke the Egyptian's blonde hair.

"Ryou, I can't do this anymore. Why did he have to come back now? We were… we were finally happy." Marik sniffed. "Why does everything always happen to us? I mean,maybe I deserve it, but you never did anything wrong. I… I'm so sorry, Ryou. This is all my fault."

"I don't want you to say that." Ryou smiled and lifted Marik's face up to face his. "You didn't do anything. It's not like you're the one who killed him."

"…You weren't there, Ryou. I mean, you were, but… damn it!" Marik let out another huge sob. "I could have stopped it, and I didn't. That's just the way it is. So I don't need you to tell me that I did nothing wrong, because it's nothing but a lie."

"…Ren is inside of me right now, right?" Ryou looked away from Marik and down at the bed. "He was the reason that everything got messed up, because you never even thought about him before you killed Bakura, and he moved on to me."

"That's right." Marik laughed a bit through his tears. "But why did he come back? Aren't dead people supposed to stay dead?"

"Maybe what he wants," Ryou said, so softly it was barely audible, "is to talk to you, Marik." He finally looked back up at the man, who looked straight up at him.

"…Ren," he finally said, "If you can hear me, come out."

Ryou closed his eyes. When they opened again a split second later, they were filled with all the emotion that told Marik what he needed to know. Ren was sitting right there in front of him.

"You called?"

"Ren…" Marik was filled with so many emotions at that point that all he could do was reach over and hug the spirit. "Ren, I…"

"So that's what it took for you to notice me," he whispered. "That was all I wanted back then, you know. I just wanted to talk."

"You didn't have to go that far. Ryou could have died-"

"What the hell is it with you? Everything you say is 'Ryou this, Ryou that.' Even when I was alive, he was all you cared about! You never had time for me anymore, because you were always with _him_!"

"Ren, you could have said something, I would have-"

"What the hell do you think I was trying to do?" cried Ren. "Whenever I tried to talk to you, you were always busy! With him!" Ren put his hands to his face.

"Ryou didn't do anything to you," Marik said, trying to remain calm, other than the tinge of anger to his voice. "If you simply had to make someone's life a living hell, why didn't you target me? I admit, I did a terrible thing to you. So why did you have to make him suffer? He didn't even know that this happened until a few days ago, it wasn't his fault!" Marik's voice slowly got higher, until the sentence ended in a yell. "Just go away, Ren! Please! I…" Marik returned to the hug, squeezing even harder than before. "I'm sorry."

Ren looked slightly taken aback. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I know that apologizing isn't enough for what I've done, but I can't do anything else. If I could bring you back to life, I would do it. But since this is all I can do, please, forgive me."

"Marik…" There was nothing but complete silence between the two until Ren hugged Marik back. "Thank you."

Marik was still sobbing, grabbing at the other boy's hair. "And you don't have to leave. Please, I… I want things to be like they were before. You can even stay in Ryou's body, so long as you don't cause any more trouble, and you switch off with him. But-"

"I can't stay, Marik." There was a thin smile on Ren's face now. "I've done what I needed to do. So, I can go now. You and Ryou can be happy together."

"No…" Marik shook his head. "No… I still have so much I want to say to you… I still need to make it up to you…"

"You still can, Marik," he said. "Never leave Ryou, okay? That's all I ask. And don't think I won't be watching you from wherever I go. I'll come back to haunt you if you break our promise. But for right now, I have to leave. So can you say good bye to me one more time, Marik? With a smile on your face?"

It was so much effort. It took almost all of Marik's strength to turn the corners of his mouth upwards. "Good… good bye… Ren."

There was one more smile, the first genuine smile he had seen during the entire conversation. There was a flash. And then, the body fell limp in Marik's arms. It was still for a few moments, until it began to stir.

"Ren… no… Ryou?" The boy in his arms smiled up at him.

"Did you get to say it?" he asked softly. "Is it all over now?"

Marik said nothing, only hugging Ryou even tighter. "I love you," was all he managed to say. "It's all over now. It's all over now, Ryou, so you don't have to worry anymore."

"Marik…" Ryou hugged the sobbing man back. "I love you, too. So don't ever leave me."

Marik smiled. "I won't," he said. "I already made that promise."

Xxx

Alright! That only took about a month to write! Now all that's left is the epilogue. And I guarantee, there will be plenty of sappiness in the author notes for those. So all I'll say is see you next time, and in the meantime, please review!


	15. Epilogue

I'll be honest; I didn't want to write this right away. I sort of wanted to put it off. But I really want this thing to be over, although it will be strange not having it to work on. So let's start this final chapter, and save the sappiness for the end.

The thorns of the rose pricked at the man's hand, drawing tiny droplets of crimson. It wouldn't have happened at all, had he not been holding it so tightly. His other hand was holding something, too, although it caused no injury. It was another, slightly smaller hand that was holding his tightly.

The two had spent so much time together, it seemed as though their hands were made to fit with each other, like puzzle pieces. The way they walked was in perfect harmony. If anyone else had bothered to notice them, they would have been jealous.

And so the couple went on, to the same place they always went on that day. Neither said a word, merely enjoying the other's company. The clouds above them, a dark shade of grey, set the tone for the day.

When they arrived, they stopped for a split second, the large gate threatening them, yet welcoming them. Still in complete silence, they crossed through to their destination.

It was when the two finally stopped that one of them opened his mouth. "Do you think he's happy?" the man said, the words breezing by in a thin mist. His lover stared up towards the sky, as though the person in question could be seen.

"That depends," he said thoughtfully, "Where do you think he went after all of that?"

"I hope he went somewhere nice, and that he's happy."

"Really," the smaller one said. "Who would have thought that we would end up wishing the best for him, despite everything that happened?"

The taller one chuckled. "You have a point. But he turned out alright in the end, didn't he?"

"That's true." The two men needed no more words after those, standing with their hands intertwined. One dropped the rose, while the other saved his for the next destination.

It must have been about 10 minutes that they stood there, in complete silence. Finally the words, "We should move on," were spoken.

The tall man smiled. "You're right. Let's go."

This was a short walk compared to the other one, only about a minute away. This time when they stopped, the other boy dropped his rose.

"I wonder if we would have gotten together if all of this hadn't happened. Otherwise, I might still be with him."

The man next to him softly kissed his cheek. "If you think of it that way, maybe it's a good thing that all of this happened."

"You're right." He looked down. "I still miss him, though."

The grip they had on each other's hands tightened. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. The circumstances were different back then."

"You're right. Now it's getting cold. Do you want to head home?"

"Alright."

"Okay then." The man started walking. "Let's go, Ryou."

Xxx

It's finished. It's really finished. I spent all of that time on this, and this was the end result. Did you know that when I first got the idea for this story, it was only going to be a oneshot? But instead, it turned into a fifteen chapter story. And the ending was completely different, too. I never even considered throwing Touzoku into the mix until I was stuck on a chapter, and yet it ended up being the main point of the story.

I should probably end this- I don't want to rant for too long on what could have been, when I should focus on what came out of this story. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope that everyone enjoyed reading it just as much. I lost some readers along the way, but I gained a few as well. So to anyone- whether you stuck with this story all the way through, or just joined with this chapter- thank you so much for reading what I consider to be my best story to date. I hope to see you next time.


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